FCA welcomes launch of ISSB standards

In view of the issuance of the inaugural global sustainability disclosure standards, namely IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a press statement. Therein, the Authority welcomes the new standards and calls them the answer to the call for „complete, consistent, comparable and reliable corporate sustainability disclosures“. In fact, the standards will support many market participants and activities and foster decision making at senior level, among companies themselves, and among investors.
According to the FCA, it has been actively supporting the development of international sustainability reporting standards through its partnership with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the work of the IFRS Foundation. The UK Government has also expressed support for the ISSB and plans to establish a mechanism for endorsing and adopting the standards in UK.
The FCA concludes by noting that it intends to update its climate-related disclosure rules to align with the ISSB standards once they are available for use in the UK. Additionally, the FCA remains committed to assisting with the implementation and adoption of the ISSB standards worldwide and advocating for the development of global sustainability-reporting standards that meet the needs of capital markets and the public interest.